San Bernardino County courts face continued turmoil

That's what the San Bernardino County Superior Court system looks like now, and it's only going to get worse.

"It's tough. It will get tougher. There will be changes," the county's Presiding Judge Marsha Slough said.

"Our courts will look very different, it will work very different. And we're going to work very hard to keep the doors open for all areas of the law."

County judges discussed the court system on Thursday at West Valley Superior Court during a forum titled "State of the Courts - Impact on San Bernardino County." The Western San Bernardino County Bar Association put on the event.

Slough as well as judges Joseph Brisco, Keith Davis and Christopher Marshall spoke to a packed room of lawyers concerning the budget impact on the county courts - and the Inland Empire in general - the use of the court's reserve accounts by the state, anticipated changes in the law and in the courtroom.

"Isn't this a depressing topic?" joked Davis, a civil judge at West Valley Superior Court.

But he wasn't far off.

The California court system has had $1.14 billion in court cuts in the 2009-10 to 2012-13 fiscal years, said Stephen Nash, San Bernardino County Superior Court executive officer

The state courts budget this fiscal year will see a reduction of about $536 million, which is substantial amount of the multi-year cut.

Locally, San Bernardino County will be hit with nearly $23 million in cuts this fiscal year, Nash said.

And it's not just an issue of money.

Out of the 58 counties in the state, San Bernardino is one of the most under-resourced and overworked regarding caseload, court officials said.

There are 83 judicial positions -- 69 judges and 14 commissioners -- in the San Bernardino County courts.

"Based on the statewide judicial workload, there should be 150 judicial officers in this county," Nash said.

And this is not the worst case scenario.

"As bad as this year is, next year is going to be worse," Davis said. "Things are not likely to get better within the next 12 to 18 months."

Court officials announced in July that the Chino courthouse will close at the beginning of 2013. Workloads will be shifted to other courthouses in the area.

Officials have also announced the partial closure of the clerk's office at the Needles courthouse.

Currently, the Needles court is in session three days per month, while the court clerk's office is open every court business day.

Beginning Monday, the clerk's office will be open on only the three days per month the court is in session and will lose five positions.

Despite the reductions in Needles, Slough said she wants to maintain a court presence in that area.

"All of our residents deserve ability to get to court without having to drive over four hours," she said.